Christian Bale, the actor behind the Batman mask in The Dark Knight Rises, has visited victims of last week's cinema shootings in Aurora, Colorado, as they recover in hospital.

Emily Crowley, a spokeswoman for the Medical Center of Aurora, confirmed that the film star was at the hospital on Tuesday afternoon but did not give any further details.

Bill Voloch, interim president of the medical center, told The Denver Post newspaper that the actor spent about 2.5 hours at the hospital, where he met with five people still being treated for their injuries.

He also met with doctors, police, paramedics and other first responders to the massacre that resulted when a gunman burst into a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises last Friday, killing 12 people and injuring 58 more.